The Conversation: Recent Topics
For more information, please contact Steven Reid at: steven.reid3@carleton.ca\
Updated August 20, 2026
Quarter Life: Series written for young people (20s-30s):
Looking for stories exploring the financial, career and employment considerations around egg freezing: the cost of freezing and storing eggs, employer benefits or coverage, and how fertility preservation can factor into career and family-planning decisions.
Deadline: ASAP
Arts:
Looking for stories on how AI is changing the book industry, from publishers pulling books or cancelling deals over suspected AI use to the flood of AI-generated nonfiction hitting the market. Interested in the implications for authors, publishers and readers, and how the industry is deciding what kinds of AI use are acceptable.
Deadline: ASAP
Business + Economy:
Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi allow users to wager on military conflicts. Looking for someone who can explain how profiting from conflict fits into the broader war economy, and where the ethical and regulatory lines should be drawn.
Deadline: ASAP
Culture/Politics:
Looking for analyses on the British media’s treatment of Jason Arday prior to his suicide. There have been other instances, including Carolyn Flack and Meghan Markle, of media pile-ons in the UK that have caused serious emotional distress to their targets. Why is the British media so vicious? Is it worse in the UK than in other western democracies? Should Arday’s death lead to media reforms/regulations?
Deadline: ASAP
Looking for a British monarchy or pop culture expert to write on Prince Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK. What are the risks inherent in their return after years of British media attacks against them? King Charles has expressed support for the move — what might that suggest about Royal Family dynamics at the moment?
Deadline: ASAP
Environment + Energy:
The area burned in Brazil’s Amazon in 2025 was far smaller in size than the previous year. We are looking for articles that discuss the reasons for this and what it means for conservation efforts.
Deadline: ASAP
Science + Technology:
Looking for stories on efforts to identify AI-generated text, including Anthropic’s new watermarking technology and other detection tools. How effective are they, and what their use could mean for workplaces, publishers and other industries?
Deadline: ASAP
Seeking a story about how AI is changing cybercrime, including how criminals use generative AI to automate scams, create voice clones and deepfakes, and launch other attacks. How are these tools making scams more convincing and scalable, and what does that mean for cybersecurity?
Deadline: ASAP
Evergreen requests that aren’t time-sensitive so pitches are welcome any time:
Business + Economy:
Financial deception in relationships: Hidden losses, secret accounts, and debt can put real strain on a relationship. Looking for an expert on the warning signs and how couples can deal with it.
Deadline: Any time
Science + Technology:
Tell us your summer fieldwork stories! Where do you go to do field research, what equipment do you use, what does it demand of you personally? Whether you study deserts, or riverbanks or city streets… let our readers see how your science is done.
Deadline: Ongoing
Do you have any interesting research papers coming out in the next few months, in any science discipline? We’d love to help you disseminate the results to a general news readership.
Deadline: Ongoing
Updated August 8, 2026
Quarter Life: Series written for young people (20s-30s):
Pension planning in your 20s and 30s: Looking for an expert who can explain when people should start planning, what steps matter most early on, and how pensions fit alongside other savings goals.
Deadline: ASAP
Education:
Back-to-school is coming; seeking pitches related to early childhood education and K-12 schooling.
Deadline: ASAP
Environment + Energy:
Seeking articles on heatwaves and their impacts on incarcerated people. What can/should be done to mitigate the effects on those in prison?
Deadline: ASAP
Politics:
Looking for any stories tied to Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats against Canada in advance or on the day of the impending Aug. 19 deadline re: the U.S. levying 50 per cent tariffs on about five per cent of Canadian exports, following recent tensions.
Deadline: ASAP
Evergreen requests that aren’t time-sensitive so pitches are welcome any time:
Arts:
Looking for books and film stories from arts and humanities scholars.
Deadline: ongoing
Business + Economy:
Seeking a scholar to write an explainer on the degrowth movement, what the case is for and against it, and what a degrowth economy could mean for the future of the planet.
Deadline: Any time
Financial deception in relationships: Hidden losses, secret accounts, and debt can put real strain on a relationship. Looking for an expert on the warning signs and how couples can deal with it.
Deadline: Any time
Science + Technology:
Tell us your summer fieldwork stories! Where do you go to do field research, what equipment do you use, what does it demand of you personally? Whether you study deserts, or riverbanks or city streets… let our readers see how your science is done.
Deadline: ASAP
Do you have any interesting research papers coming out in the next few months, in any science discipline? We’d love to help you disseminate the results to a general news readership.
Deadline: Ongoing
Updated July 27, 2026
Quarter Life: Series written for young people (20s-30s):
Pride beyond the parade: Seeking articles on interesting ways to mark Pride Month that go beyond the usual celebrations and highlight Pride’s protest origins.
Deadline: ASAP
How to have a non-traditional wedding without disappointing your family: Looking for a scholar to write about how couples navigate the pressure to honour family traditions while planning a wedding that reflects their own values.
Deadline: ASAP
Betting apps borrow a lot from phone games, from streaks to rewards. Looking for an expert on how gamification changes the way younger people think about risk.
Deadline: ASAP
The new face of gambling: Loot boxes, gacha games, blind boxes, and prediction markets do not always look like traditional gambling. Looking for someone who can explain where the line is, and how these activities often fall in legislative grey areas.
Deadline: ASAP
Arts:
Horror scholars: Fall and winter have their share of horror themes in film, but summer with its carnivals, festivals, roving kids and travelling teenagers is also ripe for film scares. Seeking pitches about summer horror films, touching on recent movies.
Timeline: ASAP
Business + Economy:
Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi allow users to wager on military conflicts. Looking for someone who can explain how profiting from conflict fits into the broader war economy, and where the ethical and regulatory lines should be drawn.
Deadline: ASAP
Environment + Energy:
Seeking articles on heatwaves and their impacts on incarcerated people. What can/should be done to mitigate the effects on those in prison?
Deadline: ASAP
Health + Medicine:
Looking for a dermatology expert to write about sunscreen myths, and anti-sunscreen misinformation.
Deadline: ASAP
Science + Technology:
Science has published a story about an $860,000 experimental gene therapy that killed a six-year-old girl in Shanghai and was covered up for more than a year. Looking for an analysis from a bioethicist who researches gene therapy — what are the risks and opportunities and how do we ensure children are adequately protected, etc. .
Deadline: ASAP
Evergreen requests that aren’t time-sensitive so pitches are welcome any time:
Arts:
Looking for books and film stories from arts and humanities scholars.
Deadline: Ongoing
Business + Economy:
Seeking a scholar to write an explainer on the degrowth movement, what the case is for and against it, and what a degrowth economy could mean for the future of the planet.
Deadline: Any time
Financial deception in relationships: Hidden losses, secret accounts, and debt can put real strain on a relationship. Looking for an expert on the warning signs and how couples can deal with it.
Deadline: Any time
Science + Technology:
Tell us your summer fieldwork stories! Where do you go to do field research, what equipment do you use, what does it demand of you personally? Whether you study deserts, or riverbanks or city streets… let our readers see how your science is done.
Deadline: Ongoing
Do you have any interesting research papers coming out in the next few months, in any science discipline? We’d love to help you disseminate the results to a general news readership.
Deadline: Ongoing